10 stupid things Hiro did to Tadashi and 1 Tadashi did to Hiro
by Karatecake
Summary: Hiro has done some stupid things in his life, too many to count. So has Tadashi, but that's not the point. Hiro recalls the top 10 most stupid things he's ever done to Tadashi, and Tadashi admits one he did to Hiro. 11th chapter is being worked on but it may take a while. I also have a Archive of our own profile, Its just Karatecake.
1. Starting out small

The first time Hiro did something stupid to Tadashi was a few days after he was born. Though it may seem harsh, being a newborn and all, but the way Tadashi told the story had Hiro adding it to his ever expanding list. Tadashi loved to tell stories about Hiro when he was young, it was like looking through an old album. Sadly, their family albums had been stolen a few days after their parents died, so Tadashi's stories are the second best.

It was 14 years ago at a SanFransokyo hospital when Hiro was born. His mother and father were very proud of the new addition, and Tadashi was ecstatic to be a big brother. Hiro had been born small so he spent many days in the sterile watch room, waiting for doctors to clear him so he could go to his new home. Tadashi waited for about a week before he could see his new brother. When those bolted doors opened, Tadashi ran through the nursery straight to Hiro's crib, as though Tadashi was a fish caught on Hiro's hook.

As Tadashi recalled: '_The first time I saw you I swore my life got a lot better. You were so chubby and small. At first I thought you were bread dough with eyes and bushy hair. That may be a weird thing to compare you to but I swear it was what you looked like_.'

Tadashi had watched, mesmerized by the little wiggly movements the small baby managed to do. He instantly reached for the baby. Even when the doctors told him to wait he still wrapped his hands around Hiro's small form and lifted him from the crib. Hiro cooed at the new face before him. 7 year old Tadashi felt proud when Hiro didn't cry in his hold. Every doctor, nurse, or other faculty member made the baby cry, except his big brother. Even their parents had some difficulty with Hiro.

The brother's parents watched in amusement as they approached the crib.

"So, how do you like your little brother?" asked his mother.

Tadashi's head snapped up, a huge smile taking up a good portion of it. The woman smiled at his silent yet intriguing response. He positioned Hiro so he was cradled in his arms. The small baby tugged at the ends of Tadashi's robot shirt, giggling when the image on the fabric moved under his ministrations.

"Oh! Do you like robots, Hiro? I love robots. I'm gonna make them when I grow up. Maybe you'll make some too."

Hiro gave Tadashi a no tooth grin, earning a muffled laughter from Mr. Hamada.

Sadly, Tadashi couldn't hold his brother all day, not with his parents wanting to see their new child. Despite most kids hating having a younger sibling, Tadashi wasn't scared of Hiro taking all his attention away; in fact, Tadashi was prepared to spend all of his time with Hiro. As he handed Hiro to his mother, he went over the small list of cool stuff he and Hiro would do once they were older.

Bike riding

Tag

Hide and seek

Building cool robots

Watching bot battles on TV (not live because that was illegal)

The new big brother was practically bouncing off the walls with anticipation. He would be the best big brother ever and nothing was going to stop him, not even god himself.

After another week of waiting, the doctors said he was healthy enough to leave the hospital. Tadashi was very excited. While he waited, he had made a toy for Hiro. It was a small, chrome colored robot that bowed when it was set on the ground. He had been so proud of his toy that he showed everyone that came over to help make up the babies room. His parents were proud, but they said he couldn't give it to Hiro yet. When Tadashi asked why they told him, '_If you give him something that small he'll choke and die._'

Tadashi had never thrown something away so fast in his life. His parents told him he didn't need to throw it away, but Tadashi refused to own anything that would or could ever harm Hiro. He could always rebuild it when he was older; it was no big deal, especially for a genius.

While his parents went to the hospital to get Hiro, Tadashi was left at home to sit and wait for his baby brother to arrive. He paced around the two story house, made a sandwich, created three sets of blueprints, and finished the last stage on a game before he heard keys rattling in the door. Tadashi had waited for half an hour, but to the 7 year old, it felt like ages.

Mr. and Mrs. Hamada walked in with little Hiro in a baby carrier. He was wearing a robot onesie, the one Tadashi had picked out, and a little hat from the hospital. Tadashi rushed up to the carrier and wigged his finger in front of the babies face. He didn't wake up. He softly pushed his soft cheek, earning him a small whine. When he did it again, Hiro's eyes snapped open, his face red and ready to cry. But when Hiro saw it was Tadashi in front of him, his face went back to its normal color.

Tadashi smiled and unhooked the baby from the carrier. While he did, Mrs. Hamada pulled out her camera to take pictures of her little men bonding. Tadashi held Hiro out in front of him, a smile still plastered to his face.

"You and I are going to be the best of friends."

That's when Hiro threw up all over Tadashi's shirt.


	2. Heavy head

The second time Hiro did something stupid to Tadashi was when he was 3, 6 months after their parents died. It was also the first time they had ever seen Aunt Cass in person. Tadashi tells him how nervous and distraught she was when they first arrived at the café. She had started picking through the bakery shelves, but didn't eat anything because of the sick feeling of grief in her stomach. It didn't help that Hiro had been sobbing non-stop since he'd woken up that morning, but who could blame him. Tadashi was a nervous wreck when he first met Aunt Cass. He had been consoling a horrified Hiro while trying hold back the tears himself.

'_The first time we got to the café, it all felt so surreal, like none of it had happened. I remember you crying, me crying, Cass crying, and nothing but rain. But if I try to think about it now, it all plays back like a bad dream_."

It took another 2 months before Hiro had gotten used to the lady who claimed to be his mom's sister. She would bring treats, play games, and even cook super spicy wings. It was when she found out that both Tadashi and Hiro were robotic geniuses that she cleared out the garage, with their help, and began buying parts, wires, and other supplies.

Tadashi had kept his promise to build robots with Hiro and the little three year old had a great talent. The two of them would be in the garage from dawn to dusk, building and planning invention after invention until a good portion of the garage had been filled. Aunt Cass had thrown in the idea of selling a few of them for parts money, but Hiro had thrown a tantrum.

"But they're mine! I made them. Me!" Tadashi took the sobbing child into his lap, muttering his trade mark 'unbelievable' line, and explained to Hiro that he could build more if they sold what was not needed. After a few more sniffles and a lecture from Tadashi about how money worked, Hiro decided to sell the moving dolls and chess master the two of them had made.

Once they sold off a few more items, Tadashi put all the proceeds into a jar on top of the fridge so Hiro wouldn't take it and sneak out to buy candy. For a three year old Hiro was more trouble than Cass and Tadashi could manage. The toddler had successfully taken the jar; no matter how many times Tadashi hid it, and took advantage of all of the windows Aunt Cass left open for air. Tadashi would frantically search for Hiro all night before he mysteriously showed up the next morning with a bag full of sweets and mischief on the mind.

Soon, the almost heart attacks Aunt Cass and Tadashi felt on a daily basis became too much. Aunt Cass took the money and opened an account with it. They didn't tell Hiro though. If he knew where the money was he'd do anything and everything to get it back, even learn how to hack funds.

They just told the toddler that they had spent it on new parts. Hiro wanted to cry and complain, but new ideas immediately filled his mind.

The brother now found themselves in the lab, scribbling away at blue print paper. Hiro did the doodles while Tadashi wrote out the measurements. Little Hiro loved to doodle inventions, he knew his drawing was bad so it was super exciting when he saw his scribbly drawing come to life and actually look real.

Tadashi just enjoyed being with his brother. Even with their parents gone, Hiro was the only person he needed. And Aunt Cass, you couldn't forget Aunt Cass. He took out a long ruler and set it across the work bench, lining it up with the robot claw Hiro had drawn. As he used the white pen to draw his line, he didn't notice Hiro eyeing the stick with a curious expression. Just as Tadashi finished the line, Hiro jumped up and grabbed the ruler, ripping it from his brother hand and running to the center of the garage.

"Hiro! Don't just take stuff from people, it's not nice."

Hiro just stuck out his tongue. "I don't care, its mine!"

Tadashi groaned, muttering under his breath. "Not the '_mine'_ phase. Anything but that!"

Tadashi got up and tried to reach for the stick, but every time he got close enough, Hiro moved the ruler around his reach. The older boy became frustrated, debating whether to tackle Hiro and take it or just wait him out. Of course he went with the second option, he could never hurt Hiro.

"Hiro, give that back to me right now." Tadashi reached for it again.

"No! It's mine now!"

Tadashi lunged again; accidently bumping into a chair and making it fall onto the floor with a loud crash. The older Hamada successfully grabbed onto one end and started a tug of war between the two.

"Hiro, I have more authority than you so give me the ruler; you're going to break it."

Hiro's face turned redder and redder as his anger grew. "What a-thor-it-ee, you're not my dad!"

Tadashi immediately stopped, letting go of the stick in the process. Hiro fell on the floor from the force of being let go and stared up at Tadashi. His face was white and his eyes were cold and distant. Hiro became as concerned as a 3 year old could be, getting up and walking over to his brother.

"D-Dashi?" Tadashi still didn't move. He was stuck in his mind, too far back in that time to respond in the present. Hiro got scared, Tadashi never did that. What did he do to his bubby? Tadashi? Tears welled up in big brown eyes as Hiro began to sob. Fat tears rolled down the chubby face as he hiccupped uncontrollably.

Tadashi snapped out of his daze when heard Hiro start to cry. What happened? Did he fall on the ground too hard? The older boy knelt down and pulled Hiro into a hug, rubbing up and down Hiro's back in a calming motion.

"It's okay, it's okay. Dashi's here, you're gonna be alright."

Hiro continued to sob into Tadashi's shirt, relieved that his brother was back, but the guilt of something keeping him crying.

"I-I-I'm s-sor sorry!" He wailed. Tadashi winced at the loudness but kept his hug tight and comforting.

"It's okay Hiro; it's not your fault."

They stayed like that for another few minutes before Hiro fell asleep in his brother's hold. Tadashi yawned and carried Hiro over to the new couch they had found. He tucked the smaller boy beneath his chin and hugged Hiro tight to his chest. Tadashi's eye lids began to droop, falling into a dreamless sleep with Hiro in his arms.

"Oh my god! Boys! What happ-"Cass stopped when she saw her two boys sleeping happily on the couch. She let out a stuttered sigh as she picked up the fallen chair that had most likely made the loud noise. She grabbed a small quilt that had been salvaged from her old house and draped it over the sleeping children, kissing their heads before walking up stairs to let her little men sleep.


	3. Kitchen Nightmares

Hiro sat at the kitchen table completely bored out of his mind. He pushed his Brussel sprouts around the ceramic plate Aunt Cass made for him last week. Hiro stared at the meat juices filling the cracked plate as he made a small picture with his food. He wasn't hungry, especially not right now, but he'd been skipping meals for too long to work on his robots and Aunt Cass had enough. She commissioned Tadashi to watch Hiro and make sure he ate _everything _on his plate. The sophomore complained, saying he needed time to work on his 7 final projects for the semester. Aunt Cass didn't want to hear it.

"Your little brother is going to starve himself if you don't make sure he eats. I thought you wanted Hiro to be safe and healthy."

Tadashi was devastated at the accusation; he immediately dragged his back pack to the table and sat down. There was no way he'd let Hiro go hungry, not on his watch.

The little 8 year old sighed for the hundredth time in the last 30 minutes; making Tadashi groan in frustration. They sat in silence for another few minutes while Tadashi wrote away on his last project which he decided to do the day before. Hiro flopped back into his chair, knowing at some chewy meat Aunt Cass had reheated. Why was she so adamant on getting him to eat? There were enough calories in Tadashi's energy drinks to get him through the day, so why bother with _food? _

Hiro so desperately wanted to roll onto the floor and sneak upstairs, but with Tadashi keeping a hawk's eye on him, every few minutes, he'd have to be as sneaky as his ninja bot, which he has yet to find. He would try and say he had homework, but Tadashi knew he already finished it in the car on the way home. He didn't know why everyone at his junior high thought the work was hard. It was the easiest thing he's ever done, and he loved to brag about it. Maybe that's why everyone hated him… Anyway, Tadashi looked up from his papers once more and gave Hiro the 'do it now' glare before moving his head to the table. Hiro groaned loudly and popped a Brussel sprout into his mouth, chocking it down as he listened to Tadashi giggle at his over exaggerated sounds.

After _another _few minutes, he realized that Tadashi had started snoring. The younger Hamada jumped up from his seat and walked over to Tadashi, waving a hand in front of his face to see how far in dreamland he was. Hiro felt a huge grin stretch across his face as a new idea came into his mind. Quickly running up stairs, he grabbed a magnetic endo-skeleton he'd been working on and its controller. Hiro made it back to his set just in time when Tadashi's head sprang back up, muttering 'I'm awake' before shaking his head frantically.

"Hiro!" he flinched, "Why do you have that look on your face?" Hiro shrugged. The drowsy Tadashi just nodded and went back to work. Hiro smiled devilishly as he messed with the small toy sized endo-skeleton below the table. He moved the arms and legs into the normal positon before opening up little hatches on the joints. He then removed the hands and feet, allowing the magnetic receptors to be free to the world.

He nearly dropped the endo when Tadashi slammed his hand on the table.

"Hiro! I'm drawing a blank, what's that word used to grammatically coordinate words?"

Hiro face palmed. "Are you talking about 'and'?"

Tadashi nodded again, catching himself when he almost fell onto the table again. Why couldn't Tadashi go upstairs and sleep already? Hiro knew he was trying to prove a point to both him and Aunt Cass that he loved Hiro and wanted him to be healthy, but all his 'devotion' was pissing Hiro off.

Hiro went back to work unlatching a few of the minor components of the skeleton, taking little bites of his dinner to make Tadashi think he was actually eating. Finally, Hiro had gotten the skeleton into proper order. He'd need to redesign it in order for it to do the setting up itself, but for now, he had distracting to do.

Hiro set the endo-skeleton on the table, just out of Tadashi's line of sight, and grabbed the controller, sitting on his thigh. He stopped for a second, listening for the heavy yet small steps of his Aunt coming up stairs. Fortunately, she probably trusted Tadashi enough to keep Hiro in line. She really shouldn't have, since the high school genius was yet again asleep in the goop of pen ink that was his project.

Hiro flicked the on switch into its lowest setting to keep down the noise as the table utensils began to slide towards the waiting bot skeleton. Soon, a knife had attached itself to its upper knee, flatting to the exposed foot in order to create a steel armor from the cutlery. A spoon made its way to the other leg, and then a fork went to the elbows, and another knife to the back. Soon enough, the whole skeleton was covered in the forks and knives that Hiro was supposed to be eating on.

Hiro grinned and moved the controller forward to his plate. His plan was to get the bot to take his food from his plate to the trash without Tadashi seeing. He would have done it himself if Tadashi didn't put the can right next to his chain. The newly formed robot could attach itself, quietly, to the side of the metal can, scale it, set the food in, and repeat without any mess ups. Or so he hoped.

Just as utensil bot had gotten to Hiro's half chewed steak, Tadashi sprung up from a falling dream, causing his project to slide forward and push utensil bot just enough to move the armor. The endo-skeleton, believing it was being attacked, lashed out with a knifed hand and shredded the paper covered card board. Hiro winced at the sound of shredded hopes and dreams as he looked at Tadashi, who was staring at the scene, completely horrified.

Hiro shut off the power switch, causing the endo to fall forward along with its armor of steel. Forks, knives, and spoons slid a little ways away from the skeleton, causing a light scraping noise.

Tadashi sat there, twitching, not yet registering what had happened. Hiro sat up straight and pushed his chain away from the table, grabbing his plate and scrapping the food into the container near his brother. Hiro slowly side walked to the stairs, hoping Tadashi's daze would last a _little bit longer._

"Heh… heh, sorry, bro." Hiro scampered up the stairs and slammed the door shut, thanking the stars that he'd escaped the explosion that was Tadashi Hamada… for now.

Aunt Cass puttered back and forth through the crowed café, serving drink after drink to her many customers. She sidled back to the counter and began to brew another cup of coffee. Just as she was about to hand it to one of her favorite customers, a loud scream of '_Hiro!_ erupted from the upstairs loft, causing her to drop the mug onto the floor. When the screaming had stopped, a few of her guests almost ran out of the café. She let out a shaky sigh; these boys were going to be the death of her.


	4. Sugar, Spice, and too much vanilla

He felt like a failure. A big, fat failure. He spent all day trying to make it perfect, but not even his genius could help him in the matter. What he was trying to make? A cake, for Tadashi, without any help. I know, it sounds stupid for a 10 year old to try and bake something without _any_ help, but Hiro's Hamada pride made it seem like a _wonderful _idea.

It all started out fine. He and Tadashi had been playing video games upstairs. Hiro complained about their seating arrangement multiple times, but after a while you just get used to sitting in big brothers lap. They had just finished whatever they had been playing when Aunt Cass ran upstairs and slammed open their door with her trade mark gusto. They could barely understand what she was saying as she raced around the room, waving around an envelope with a gold and blue symbol on it.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Aunt Cass, calm down. What are you so excited about?" Tadashi asked, setting down his controller and pulling Hiro with him as he sat up.

"You got an acceptance letter! To SFIT! Right now!"

Tadashi's eyes widened and he jumped off the couch, pulling Hiro with him and throwing him up on his shoulders. He swore he was going to get major motion sickness one of these days. The two _adults _danced around the bedroom before Aunt Cass shoved the letter into Tadashi's hands, declaring she was going to make the spiciest chicken wings for dinner tonight.

Tadashi stared bright eyed at the crisp envelope, thinking of all the great things that would happen now that he had been accepted. He had only just started his senior year, but he was willing to take his tests now and get on campus, ASAP. Hiro felt a slight tug in his chest. If Tadashi went to college, then he might get a dorm, and then he'd be away from Hiro for months on end, and then… Hiro couldn't even finish his thought when Tadashi flopped him back onto the bed and pulled him into a tight snuggle.

"Oh you don't know how happy I am, Hiro. A lot is going to change for the better." He ruffled Hiro's hair one more time, sitting them up again and staring at Hiro.

"A-are you going to get a dorm." He asked quietly, fearing the answer. Tadashi stopped for a moment then smiled, his heart beating a little bit faster knowing that his baby brother wasn't sick of him yet. Tadashi gave him a loving look before shaking his head.

"No, silly, I'm not going anywhere, especially without you. We're a team, remember?"

Hiro perked up and smiled, feeling absolutely over joyed that Dashi was staying.

After another hour of gaming, Tadashi left for SFIT to register and head to the high school to see about early graduation, which left Hiro pretty much alone in the loft. He was very happy that Tadashi was going to college, and he also felt like Tadashi needed a present. Something homemade, since Hiro needed his money for bot fights. Something easy, since Tadashi was going to be home in about 2 hours.

"Hey Hiro, what would you think Tadashi would want for dessert?" asked Cass from the kitchen. Hiro's eyes widened. Cake! He would make Tadashi a cake!

Hiro rushed out of the room and stomped down the stairs, nearly running into Aunt Cass as he barreled into the kitchen.

"Oh! Hiro, what's with you?" she laughed, seeing the elated expression on Hiro's chubby little face.

"I want to make something for Tadashi."

"Why don't you make him a robot like you always do?"

Hiro frowned, "No no no, I want to _bake _something for Tadashi. A cake!" That caught Cass by surprise. Hiro? Baking? Those were not two things she would associate with her robotics loving nephew. But, a change of pace was always good, especially when it came to Hiro.

"Ok, well I'll get the ingredients and we'll get started."

Hiro shook his head, "No. I want to make it myself." Cass gave him a confused look and shrugged her shoulders. She grabbed the necessary ingredients, pans, and recipe and set it out along the kitchen's island. Hiro squealed in glee and bounced up to the granite island, looking over the things he would use to bake the _best cake ever!_

Sadly, it didn't turn out like that. Aunt Cass had gone back downstairs to work in the café and left Hiro to his business, trusting that a genius would be able to cook something without too much trouble. But the moment she left, she had sealed a horrible fate for her kitchen and cooking wares.

Hiro had to pull multiple stools from the island to reach all the ingredients. He shuffled through the many powders and milks she had provided him and skimmed over the recipe, thinking that he didn't really need it. He popped a few eggs and some milk into a large bowl and grabbed the electric mixer, setting it on high to get the mixing done faster. The moment he put the spinning whisks into the bowl, a splatter of eggy milk flew from it, decorating the cabinets and table. He scrambled for the plug, ripping it from the socket, and throwing it to the side. He decided to use a regular spoon instead.

Even with the more stable utensils he managed to make a huge mess. As he tried to put the flour into the large bowl, some of it got into his nose, causing him to sneeze. A large cloud of white poofed into the air and even got into Hiro's bushy hair. While he tried to remove the excess flour from his hair, his elbow bumped into the industrial sized bottle of vanilla extract, causing it to pour into the already ruined batter, giving it a muddy appearance and a very, v_ery_ pungent smell.

He still pushed on, setting the oven to preheat as he tried his best to juggle that large sloshing bowl over to the counter where the cake pans were. Pulling up another stool, he sloppily poured in the cake batter, effectively spilling some down the side of the counter and getting it on the floor. When the oven finally dinged, he again juggled with two filled cake pans and slipped them into the oven without a hitch. However, when he went to go get the recipe to see how long he had to cook it, he found that the paper had been soaked in vanilla and the words had become goopy and unreadable. Hiro groaned in frustration, punching in 20 minutes and hoping for the best.

Tadashi got home at about 4 o' clock sharp, absolutely elated at the events of that day. He had been fully registered into SFIT and he was supposed to come back on Monday to get his classes in order. Even the high school staff had been easy to talk with, they gave him the days of when his final tests were, what they were, and where he would test. Conversely, he had met a bunch of his _fangirls_ on the way out, narrowly avoiding being kissed by them getting out the door. He didn't know what was with people. If he clearly wasn't interested, then why bother trying to get something that wasn't being offered. Tadashi then smiled at the memory of his brother from that morning, so sad that he might be leaving him for college. He, however, loved getting attention from Hiro. The only one who would be getting his affection was Hiro, plain and simple. And he would love him until the day he died.

The now college student walked into the loft, ready to go upstairs and tell Hiro all about his day, when he smelled burning. Tadashi ran up the stairs into the kitchen and gasped at what he saw. Hiro was sitting, covered in cake mix, in a dejected position on a stool. Beside him was a half burnt half soggy cake with icing sloppily spread on, as though someone was in a hurry and dumped it on. The scent of burnt vanilla almost made Tadashi choke, but he held it back, knowing that if Hiro heard then his mood would worsen.

He slowly walked over to his baby brother, who looked about ready to cry.

"Hiro?" he said slowly, "What's this?" Hiro gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes Tadashi had ever seen and slammed into him, wrapping his little arms around Tadashi's waist and wailing.

"I'm sorry Nii-san, I tried my best but I couldn't do it right." Hiro sobbed into Tadashi now cake covered cardigan. Tadashi was surprised by the outburst but didn't waste any time scooping Hiro into his arms. The younger Hamada clung to his form like a little monkey.

"Shh, it's okay. Did you make this for me?"

Hiro nodded, "I made it to celebrate, but I ruined it."

Tadashi shook his head, setting Hiro down and walking over to the silver ware drawer and grabbing a fork.

"You didn't ruin it. It's just your first time baking. And you did it on your own, right?"

Hiro nodded again.

"Well, then that means it's special." Tadashi declared.

Tadashi scooped a piece of cake from the center. He was a bit hesitant about eating it, but seeing Hiro's expectant eyes made him go through with it. He quickly slipped the fork into his mouth, awaiting a weird collaboration of flavors, but was pleasantly surprised with the sweet vanilla that over took his taste buds. Though it was a bit over powering, it was still nice.

Tadashi smiled, ruffling Hiro's hair. "It tastes great; I can't believe you thought it was bad."

Hiro giggled and smiled, making Tadashi's heart swell. The older Hamada lifted Hiro from his seat and carried him upstairs.

"Come on, knucklehead, you've had a rough day, let's get you into a bath."

Hiro's eyes widened. "No! No baths, I hate baths!"

Tadashi laughed manically, ignoring Hiro's screams of 'mutiny' as he carried him to the bathroom.

Honestly, this wasn't a stupid thing Hiro did to Tadashi, but Hiro thought it was a good memory so… why not?


	5. Good thing for insurance

It was a calm Saturday morning; the usual work goers were at home which left the streets nice and quiet. Tadashi lazed around in his bed, Hiro snuggled at his side. They had been planning designs for a robot Tadashi planned to make once he was fully moved into university. Hiro had wanted to go with a super menacing robot that could bash through walls and destroy buildings. However, Tadashi wanted to go for a more 'huggable' design; something that would seem super approachable. After they played around with different designs, Hiro became sleepy and crawled into Tadashi's lap. The two fell asleep fairly quick after that.

Hiro squirmed and whined in his sleep, causing Tadashi to coo at the cute little noises he made. Just as Tadashi was shifting Hiro farther into his lap, his normal day alarm went off, blaring loud chirps into his ears. Hiro shot up from his laying position and slammed his head into Tadashi's chin. The older man groaned in pain, keeping a secure hold on Hiro so he wouldn't fall off the bed. Hiro stopped, feeling his brain catch up with his body, and pushed himself up from Tadashi's chest. Tadashi rubbed his chin, trying to sooth the sting of being hit with a pretty dense head.

"Tadashi!" His brother looked up. "What day is it?"

"Saturday."

Hiro began to shake and bounce, feeling a familiar excitement build up in his chest. Tadashi watched as his brother's face lit up and a smile stretched across his face, making those chubby cheeks a beautiful pink.

Tadashi chuckled, "Happy birthday Hiro."

Hiro screamed in excitement, rolling back and forth in his big bros hold.

"Birthday! Birthday!" The little Hamada scrambled to get up and run downstairs, where he knew Aunt Cass would have his cake and a few presents. She'd never forgotten his birthday, except that one time, but it wasn't her fault that the kitchen had caught on fire the night before.

Tadashi smiled, sighing as he rose from the bed and slipping on some respectable pants. He'd gotten something super special for Hiro, and he also had a surprise that he knew his baby brother would love.

The moment Hiro got downstairs, Aunt Cass plopped a birthday hat over his tangled mop and pushed him towards a chair in front of a wonderfully made breakfast. She placed a kiss on his cheek as she grabbed some table ware from the drawer. Tadashi came down a few seconds later, placing a warm kiss of his cheek and sitting right beside his brother. Hiro blushed at the kiss. He was used to Tadashi kissing him, he was his brother after all. But the thought of someone as handsome as Tadashi giving him any sort of affection had his little heart beating faster.

"Happy birthday, Hiro. I hope you like sausage and eggs, with extra bacon of course."

"Cholesterol!" He cheered, causing Tadashi to choke on his coffee. The older Hamada switched between hacking up his lungs and laughing hysterically at Hiro's little comment. Aunt Cass watched, bewildered at her nephew's behavior, but joined in on the laughing when Tadashi heaved out 'diabeetus' between choking fits. Hiro snickered and patted his brother's back to get him to stop coughing.

It took a while, but Tadashi stopped coughing and Aunt Cass set down his plate as well.

"Sadly, boys, I will be down in the café for most of the day. Vacationers and such, but I heard that Tadashi has a surprise for you, Hiro."

Hiro squealed, making Tadashi wince at the loudness, and latched onto Tadashi's arm. Tadashi laughed, ruffling Hiro's hair.

"I'll give you your surprise, right after my ears stop ringing." Hiro frowned and punched Tadashi in the shoulder. The older Hamada gave a defeated cry and fell onto the floor. Hiro rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Nii-san, 18 year olds aren't supposed to act like that."

"Yeah? Well 11 year olds shouldn't squeal like that."

Hiro slumped back into his chair, feeling insulted. Tadashi gave a light smile and got up from the floor. He pushed Hiro's chair closer to the table, pressing a light kiss on his head, and began to cut up his food.

"Hey! Don't' cut my food, I can do that myself!"

"Nope, it's your birthday and you're going to be treated like a princess whether you like it or not." Hiro felt his face get red. He was no princess! He was a king! A very hot king! Hiro looked up at Tadashi with a (not totally adorable!) glare. Tadashi just snickered and winked, causing Hiro's face to burn even more.

Aunt Cass giggled, snapping a few pictures of the blushing birthday boy.

While they finished their breakfast, Aunt Cass went downstairs to open up the café, leaving the two boys with the house to themselves. Hiro scarfed down his food and bolted upstairs, ideas brewing in his mind. He made sure to plan slowly, since any sort of birthday activities would have to wait until Cass closed up shop. It took Hiro only an hour to fill up hundreds of blue print sheets, leaving him with absolutely nothing to do. Tadashi watch from their door as Hiro rolled around on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"Entertaining myself." Hiro replied dryly.

Tadashi sighed and walked over to the wiggle worm that was his brother. He hefted Hiro onto his feet and nudged him towards the door.

"Come on, I'll give you your surprise a little bit early." Hiro suppressed another squeal and trotted down to the garage with his brother. Tadashi brought them to the painted garage door and slipped a scarf from his jacket, wrapping it around Hiro's eyes and spinning him three times.

"This better not be a piñata." He said woozily, still spinning a bit.

"Nope. Just wanted to see you dizzy." Tadashi admitted.

"Tadashi! If you don't get on with the gift giving then I'm going to throw up on your shoes."

Tadashi jumped back when Hiro fake wretched in his direction. Even if he was still blindfolded he could still hear his brother's smugness from a mile away.

"Okay okay, I'm getting to it. And it's not a gift, more like an experience." Tadashi turned Hiro back to facing the garage and sauntered over to the metal door. For added affect, he did a small drum roll on the metal then pulled it open revealing… Hiro didn't know because he was still blindfolded!

Hiro pulled off the scarf, eyes going wide at the sight in front of him. A beautiful moped sat in the garage/workspace. Hiro slowly walked towards it, running his fingers over the newly polished machine. He did a full walk around, touching everything that caught his eye, before sitting on the soft leather seat. Hiro bounced on the seat, absolutely loving the material choice.

"Wow… where did you get this?"

Tadashi smiled and walked over next to Hiro, slipping two helmets Hiro didn't know he had onto the handle bars. "I'm 18, I know how to drive, but I hate cars. Then... then I find this baby and I'm sold. I wanted you to be the first one to drive this thing, you know, break it in."

Tadashi nudged Hiro a bit farther up the seat and slipped a helmet that was one size too big onto his head. Hiro put his feet up on the sides and held on for dear life as Tadashi kicked up the kick stand and rolled him outside. He kept a strong grip on the bars as Tadashi slowly explained to him what levers or buttons did what. Once they were on an empty side road, Tadashi stopped pushing and leaned over to Hiro.

"You think you're ready?" Hiro nodded furiously and braced himself for his first ride. Tadashi gave him a push forward and Hiro revved the gas. The moped lurched forward as Hiro went flying down the road. Tadashi gasped, running down the street to catch his brother.

Hiro swerved back and forth, dodging random trash cans and animals that decided to reside in the street alley. Hiro gripped the break lever, becoming even more frantic when the moped didn't stop. He righted himself and tried to turn the bike and slide to a stop, but it only made him hit a cat resting on a fence.

Just as Hiro thought up another plan, a small bug car pulled out in front of the alley. He didn't have enough time to scream when the moped slammed into the car and he went flying over it, landing on a very heavy pedestrian that cushioned his fall. The portly man squirmed under him and he rolled of the man's back, helping him off the ground.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I'll make it up to you. Just go down to the Lucky Cat Café and tell the lady at the front that Hiro did something stupid to you, she'll give you a free drink." The man nodded as Hiro bolted back to the alley, where his brother was talking with the man whose car had been hit. As soon as Tadashi saw him he lifted Hiro into his arms, giving him a reassurance squeeze before setting him down.

"Head back home, Hiro. I'll be back later."

Hiro slowly walked down the alley back home, looking back every once and a while to make sure Tadashi was still there.

Hiro felt like an idiot.

"I just wrecked my brother's pride and joy, I am so screwed." He muttered, rolling onto his stomach and staring at the light coming in from the window. He really did fuck up this time.

Hiro heard the door downstairs slam closed, making Hiro wince at the obvious anger behind it. Hiro huddled under his covers, hoping that hiding would keep his punishment light. Hiro heard Tadashi slowly open the door, a moment of silence filled the room before he gently shut the door and walked over to Hiro's bed. The younger Hamada felt the bed dip from Tadashi's weight and a gentle hand stroking the hair sticking out from the blanket cocoon. He gently coaxed Hiro from the fort and pulled him into his lap.

"I'm sorry, Dashi." He whispered. Tadashi looked at him in shock.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I broke your pride and joy."

"Pride and joy?" Tadashi laughed a bit. "You knucklehead, _you're _my pride and joy. Yeah I like my moped, and yeah I'm bummed it's broken and I have to wait until it's fixed, but I could never be mad at you for something that was my fault."

"B-but… I'm the one who drove it."

Tadashi shook his head, "And I'm the one who made you do it."

"But I said I was ready!"

"I was a fool not to realize you weren't."

"Tadashi! It was my fault, done, end of story. And I won't take anything else for an answer. I'll even help you pay for the damages."

Though he wanted to disagree, Tadashi had promised that Hiro would be treated like a princess today, and princesses got what they wanted. The good news was that Hiro actually didn't have to pay. Thank god for insurance.

This _does _count as a Hiro stupid because princess rules (explosion in the background)


	6. That one dream

Hiro was shaking. Not just the little shivers you got when you were cold, but literal 'there's an earthquake inside you' shaking. He stood stiffly in front of his high school, staring at the frosted doors he hoped he would never have to see again.

Today was graduation day, and Hiro had been forced by Aunt Cass to attend. "_It's a major milestone in your life; you can't just stay at home on such an important day!"_ Hiro groaned, he could totally stay at home, the staff could mail him his diploma and he could go on with life as usual. But no, he just_ had _to stand in line with a bunch of people who hated him for 3-4 hours, sitting through boring speeches, and listening to people brag about contributing to society when Hiro knew they would just get go live with their parents. Hiro knew there were a bunch of smart people at SF high, but he had gotten stuck in the idiot class of 2120 with all the stupid rich kids.

He felt a hand set on his shoulder. He knew it was Tadashi, he could feel it in the gentle grip. Tadashi had graduated early, so Hiro had to spend his high school experience _alone_, with no one but himself to talk to. Tadashi regretted not being able to spend _at least _one year with Hiro, but if he did he never would have met his friends.

Tadashi curled his arm around Hiro's tiny shoulders and walked him inside. Tadashi pushed the door open for his brother and Cass, getting instantly swarmed with greetings from teachers and students who got held back and knew him. He moved himself back to Hiro's side as he caught a few graduates glaring at him.

"I don't want to be here. They aren't happy for me, they're happy for you. And you aren't even graduating!" Tadashi chuckled.

"No worries, baby bro, the people here are just salty because they know who the real boss is."

Hiro smiled, leaning onto his brother and walking farther into the school; mentally preparing himself as he went.

Hiro shifted back and forth in the line with his significantly taller classmates. It took about an hour, but finally his row had been called up to the stage. The upperclassmen made it hard for Hiro to even get out of his seat as they shoved back down while leaving. Hiro huffed and rocked from one foot to the other, playing with the hem of his gown. The hat was a size too big and only stayed on his head because of the hair filling it.

The line moved forward again as another name was called up on stage. One of his jerk face classmates shoved him forward when he didn't move immediately. God he hated this school.

"Do it for Cass." He muttered darkly. He would have done it for Tadashi too, but the older Hamada had been just as hesitant to bring Hiro back to the school.

Hiro looked at the large crowd filling the sport gym. People of all shapes and sizes sat, tightly compacted, in rows, waiting for their little prince/princess to get their diplomas. Hiro sighed; he wished he still had a functional family. Before his parents died he remembered large family gatherings and functions. His many relatives filled his house or someone else's and just talked for hours. But that all changed after his parents died. Their parents were the only tie to the rest of the Hamada family, making it nearly impossible for Aunt Cass to invite anyone over. Sure they would come over for an hour, but then they'd realize no one else was coming and would leave. Speaking of Aunt Cass… Hiro shifted his sight over to the fourth and fifth seats in the first section, where Cass and Tadashi sat. Hiro smiled, he may wish for it, but his family now is the only family he'll ever need.

Aunt Cass grinned and gave Hiro a double thumbs up when their eyes met. Tadashi smiled and waved, Hiro gave a small return wave, hoping no one around him had seen it. His brother motioned for him to look in front of him. Hiro turned his head and realized that he'd been holding up the line. Head down, Hiro scuttled back into place, trying to ignore the angry mutters behind him.

He didn't look back over at Tadashi so he didn't see the heated glare he'd sent the people in line with him. What he did notice was the collective shiver that rippled behind him.

As Hiro got closer and closer to the stage, he felt his shakes from before come back. He was never good with crowds, even if they weren't there for him. To the people in the audience, he was nothing more than a blank face with no name. Even if that was true, he still felt the crippling weight of anxiety fall upon his form. The girl in front of him walked up the stage stairs and greeted their principal, shaking his hand and immediately going off stage. Hiro hoped his experience would be the same, but this was not his lucky day.

"_Next up is our valedictorian and the youngest and brightest student ever to graduate SF high, Hiro Hamada!"_

Suddenly, all eyes were on him. A heavy weight settled in his stomach as he dragged his feet up the stairs. He tripped a little bit on the edge of the last stair but played it off. Hiro's shaking had worsened to the point where he thought the whole stage was moving with him. When did it get so hot in here? Why does the crowd seem bigger? Why isn't there enough air!? Hiro hurried his steps to the sharply dressed man at the podium. The principle sighed and handed him his papers, shaking his hand and giving one last mention of him being a genius before he walked off stage. Hiro still felt the scorching burn of embarrassment in his cheeks as he got down the stairs. His shakes had gotten back under control and he no longer felt like throwing up everywhere.

'_Note to self: Next experiment – anti-anxiety bracelet with 24/7 use' _

After two hours and another fourteen rows of people, Hiro and everyone else was allowed to leave and take pictures. Everyone one pilled out of the high school to the main courtyard. Hiro got stuck in tidal wave of students. As soon as they had gotten outside, a flurry of graduation caps flew into the air, even Hiro's once he'd found stable ground.

Everyone stayed in the courtyard for a while, waiting for parents and taking pictures with friends and school staff. Hiro pushed his way through the never ending swarm of people until he found Cass and Tadashi talking with one of Tadashi's old teachers. Aunt Cass was the first to see him, running up and pulling her little man into the tightest hug Hiro had ever felt.

"Oh you poor thing, you were all red up on that stage. Don't worry, honey, I nearly threw up on my principal during my graduation ceremony."

Hiro chuckled at the thought of a younger Cass trying not to lose her lunch on Mr. Confidence, their principal. She set Hiro on the ground and spun him to face Tadashi. The older man smiled warmly at his brother and motioned for Hiro to come over. The smaller Hamada blushed and ran over to his brother, who was still reminiscing with his old history teacher. As he ran, he passed a group of notoriously dickish rich kids. The closest one to Hiro stuck out his skinny jean clad leg and tripped the poor boy. Hiro fell forward, grabbing at anything that could keep him from falling, which happened to be Tadashi's pants. Hiro's impulsive grab latched onto Tadashi's belt and dragged down his brother's pants until they bunched and stopped at his knees.

Hiro's chin and chest hit the ground with full force as Tadashi yelped and scrambled to pull his pants back up. It was a good thing Tadashi didn't wear his favorite heart covered boxers that day, or else there would have been even more embarrassment.

Hiro looked up at Tadashi, just now realizing what he did. He had landed almost right between Tadashi's legs, so when he looked up all he saw was a boxer clad bulge. A blush burned furiously on his face; he looked back down quickly, willing the image to get out of his mind.

Tadashi managed to get his pants back up and resecure the belt. The older Hamada blushed and laughed at the jabs of 'Nice boxers' and 'Give us a show' being yelled across the court yard. Tadashi knelt down and grabbed Hiro, lifting him from the ground and giving him a thorough brush off. He chuckled at Hiro's flustered face.

"Congrats, little brother, you've pantsed your first person at high school."

"Oh my god." Hiro pressed his face into his hand, feeling the blush burn brighter. Aunt Cass stood off to the side, snapping pictures of her boy's embarrassment. Tadashi bent forward and pulled Hiro's hands off of his face, giving him a reassuring look. Hiro nodded quickly, trying to recompose himself before talking to his brother.

"Hey-"Tadashi pulled Hiro to his chest, giving him an almost claustrophobic hug. "I saw you were shaking up on stage." Hiro nodded into his brother's cardigan. "It was a bad idea to come here." Hiro nodded again. "But… I got to see my baby brother graduate-" Hiro looked up as much as he could, staring at Tadashi's warm expression. "And if I have to get pantsed a hundred times just to see it again, I would. I'm very proud of you Hiro." Hiro felt so moved by his words, from the pain in his chin and chest to the soft words his brother had said he had many reasons to cry. Hiro smiled, nodding once more before reaching up and giving his brother a chaste kiss on the cheek. He felt his cheeks burn once more and was very amused to see Tadashi's do the same.

"Come on kids, you've been standing there forever." Shouted Aunt Cass. The two brothers looked over at their Aunt and laughed. She giggled and shuffled them towards the car.

"We're going out for dinner tonight, Hiro's choice"

Hiro thought for a moment. "You know… I think I've had enough of people today. Let's just go home and have wings."

Tadashi nodded to Cass, totally open to getting his face melted off once again.

"I think I can do that."


	7. Green

Hiro slumped onto the kitchen table, sipping at his juice as Aunt Cass hurriedly cooked up a quick breakfast. He fiddled with the napkin she has wrapped around his cup, knowing he would spill, especially if it was still early in the day. He righted himself when Cass tapped the end of his plate on his head.

"Alright, Hiro today is going to be a very busy day. I'll need you and Tadashi's help _all day_ so no sleeping on the job."

Hiro nodded, "Why is today specifically busy? Aren't you busy every day?"

She chuckled, a small glint appearing in her eye. "You're always off somewhere this time of year so I guess you should know. Have you ever heard of Anime con?"

Hiro nodded.

"Well, when Anime con lets out it unleashes hordes of nerds into the streets of SanFransokyo. These poor little nerds need a place to stay and by gosh Lucky Cat will provide such a place."

Hiro snickered, loving his aunt's enthusiasm. She grabbed Tadashi's plate from the counter and walked over to the table, stepping over Mochi as the fluffy cat demanded attention. Hiro felt his mouth water as more food appeared on the table. He shoveled down his food, reaching over to his brother's plate to grab some more. Just as he plucked a strip of bacon off Tadashi's plate, he heard his brother's loud footsteps from the stairs. The college man yawned and stretched as he made his way to the table; his usually perfect hair mussed up and sticking up in multiple directions. Hiro giggled as one of the strands moved in front of his face, making Tadashi swipe at it in his sleepy haze.

The younger Hamada stepped up onto his seat, grasping at Tadashi's shoulders until the older man stood near enough to Hiro. He ran his fingers through the mess, straightening the obsidian locks until it looked presentable enough for the breakfast table.

"Thnx." He mumbled, patting Hiro's head and plopping down into his own seat.

"Oh, there's my handsome college man." Tadashi groaned, making Hiro and Cass laugh at his response. "Well, sleepyhead, you better wake up soon because I'm going to need your full attention today."

"Yeah, Tadashi, Nerd con needs its crowning nerd."

The older Hamada smirked at his brother's little comment, grabbing the smaller male and dragging him into his lap. Hiro squealed when Tadashi ran his fingers up and down his sides, tickling him senselessly. Aunt Cass burst into a fit of giggles as Hiro's instinctive laughter became contagious. The older woman set her plate on the table, tossing some scrambled eggs into Tadashi's hair to make him stop so they could eat. The older Hamada made a noise of disgust, depositing Hiro into his seat to brush the goopy eggs from his hair. The family ate in a peaceful silence for a bit before Cass called their attention once more.

"Alright boys, today is a day when there are no breaks or lollygagging. Those nerds are serious business and we need to keep things flowing nicely. It also helps to have some looks working the counter." She winked at the boys as their eyebrows rose in confusion.

"Oh come on, how can you not see it? Hiro, you're the adorable one that can persuade people to buy more just for little ol you!" Hiro blushed a bit at the compliment.

"Whoa, Aunt Cass, don't give him any ideas." Tadashi warned with a tone of humor in his voice.

She just chuckled, "Don't think I don't know how he is. Besides, I've seen him use that tactic on you."

The older Hamada frowned as Hiro began to laugh at his short comings.

"And don't forget about yourself, Tadashi. You're the handsome muscle body, wooing women into getting two lattes instead of one."

Hiro snickered, "Muscle body? This nerd?" Tadashi rolled his eyes along with Cass. What Hiro didn't know was that every Christmas Cass would buy Tadashi an annual membership to the gym on 43rd. Despite popular belief, Tadashi didn't always come home late from the lab.

"Anyway, get upstairs and be ready in an hour. We got a whole day of bad cosplay and boy smell ahead of us." The brothers winced at the mention of boy smell. They already had enough of that at the lab, but they knew geeks were much worse.

Hiro tugged at the collar choker around his neck, making the golden bell jingle from the movement. He sighed when he realized that there was no loosening it. Instead, the younger Hamada rearranged his skirt and pulled up the black garters, all the while hating his life choices. His Aunt had pressured him into wearing a maid costume along with cat accessories such as: a tail, ears, and a bell collar. He had somehow found his way out of wearing panties with the costume, and instead dawned a black pair of boxers handed down from Tadashi.

The boy genius shifted back and forth in the café's back room, adjusting here and rearranging there, hoping to get the day done and over with. It was worse with the cat eared headband on, it pushed back the hair around his ears, causing the embarrassed glow to be noticed even more. Hiro sighed in relief when he heard Aunt Cass and Tadashi walk downstairs into the room. Hiro turned to face his family, argumentative nature flaring, when he saw what Tadashi was wearing.

His brother rocked a tight, black V-neck that showed off a good portion of his chest. The rest of the shirt outlined his abdominals in the most perfect of ways. The shirt stopped short, revealing a little bit of skin before a black, waist tied apron and grey pants covered his legs. Hiro made sure his mouth was closed before he continued his appreciation of the form that was his big bro. Tadashi also wore a cat eared headband and the tail was attached to his apron, minus the collar.

Hiro felt heat rise in his cheeks as he stared at the great expanse of his brother's body. His blush deepened when he noticed Tadashi giving him the same heated look.

"Well… What do you think Dashi?" Hiro asked quietly, hoping to break whatever tension they had caused.

Tadashi's mouth opened and closed a few times before he squeaked out "Cat." He slapped a hand over his mouth when his voice cracked severely. Hiro giggled at the squeak, causing Tadashi to smile as well.

Aunt Cass just watched; amused by her boy's reactions. She was so glad she went with the lucky cat theme costumes.

"Alright boys, close them mouths and let's get rolling. It's show time!" She clapped her hands and grabbed the sleeves of both their outfits, leading them into the café. She lightly shoved Tadashi behind the counter to start up a few machines and bring out cups. While the noise of whirring coffee makers and clanking glass set the mood of the café, Cass pointed Hiro to the trays and wrapped silver ware. The little cat boy piled napkins of silverware onto a large tray and totted it to the multiple tables as Cass turned the open sign on the door.

Almost immediately, hordes of weirdly dressed people of all sizes piled into the café. Cass was quick to seat everyone who came in; she even dipped into the backroom's extra chair supply to seat people as they waited. She rejoined her oldest nephew behind the counter, kicking him out when he began to mess up her flow. The brother's regrouped by the bar. Hiro grabbed a pen and a pad of order sheets while Tadashi reached for the serving trays Hiro had set out.

Hiro made his way from table to table, culling his blush as people took pictures with him and commented on his 'cute' outfit. A few weirdoes he encountered tried to pull up his skirt, but with a sharp slap from Tadashi (who had run all the way across the café) they regained their manners like magic.

As Hiro and Tadashi rushed from table to table, giving refills or dropping off food, they found favor in most of the customers, earning them _a lot _of tip money. As a little joke, Hiro slipped the bills into the tops of his garters, earning him a few looks that were more than friendly. Tadashi had to stop himself multiple times from grabbing his coat and draping it over his brother's shoulders. Hiro fit those clothes too well to be wearing them in public. In the bedroom? Totally… wait what?

Hiro soon found himself seating a group of snobbish girls whose costumes were borderline skimpy, and were most likely using the con as a way to dress slutty and get away with it (author note: that's totally ok IRL, but for now just pretend it's not.). Hiro found himself going to the table _way _too often. Sure lucky cat is a service providing establishment, but that didn't mean every single complaint they made was justified. The table is too dirty, my plate has a crack, my special coffee doesn't have enough foam photos in it. The younger Hamada found himself getting increasingly annoyed, especially when they would pull his tail to get his attention instead of just calling his name. He had a name tag on for a reason!

By the seventh time they called for him, Hiro just pushed Tadashi in their direction. His brother nodded in sympathy; he saw how rude they were being and it only makes sense that he'd need a break.

Tadashi made his way to their table, slipping a note pad and pen from his apron to write down what they wanted.

"Well hello _kitty_." The brunette closest to him purred. "It's a good thing that little bother took a break so we could see this tiger." Commented another.

Tadashi cringed at their comments. Sure they were tall, filled out, and drop dead gorgeous, but that didn't take away from their horrid attitudes and crude behavior. Tadashi favored company who stole his heart over time, not random people with 'one night stand' written on them like a name tag.

The older Hamada cleared his throat, putting on the most sensuous smile he could allow. Today was about persuading customers to buy, and Tadashi knew the route he would have to take in order to get the extra bucks he knew they needed.

"Thank you for the compliments, they were _much_ appreciated." Tadashi smirked when he saw a collective shiver go down their spines, not from intimidation of course. Though it was fun to know he had this kind of power over people, he would much rather see _someone else_ react that way.

"What would you lovely ladies like today?"

"O-oh, you know, just a refill, nothing special." She stuttered.

Tadashi gave another fake smile. "Are you sure?"

The woman glanced at her friends, all giving a nod before she spoke again.

"Uh, we have been wondering about the pastries you have here, maybe something… cream filled." She winked.

Tadashi tried not to roll his eyes at her obvious innuendo, and simply wrote down the name of the one she gave brief detail on. He gave them a small wink, heading back over to the counter to tell Cass their order.

He slapped the paper on the granite and gave his Aunt _the look_. She snickered at his scowl.

"Don't be such a crybaby, dear, it's just for today. If they come back later then I give you full permission to put some of Mochi's hair in their drinks." Tadashi chuckled.

As he loaded a small tray with the pastries, Hiro walked up beside him. The smaller boy reached up and ran his hand through Tadashi's hair for a second time that day. Once he was finished, he put Tadashi's cat ears back into place. When Tadashi gave him an amused yet confused look, the only answer he got was "Messy" before Hiro picked up some drinks and walked away.

Tadashi felt his mood brighten at the action; a smile stretching across his face. The smile stayed, even when Aunt Cass thrust a pitcher of water into his free arm for the refills. As he weaved in between tables and people on the way to his destination, he caught his brother's stare from across the cafe. Tadashi winked at the little maid, causing him to blush and turn away. He snickered, turning his attention to the annoying females he had to serve.

Hiro stood rigid at his post, feeling the flames of jealousy lick his body. His mood was already shit from the constant harassment, but this was taking it too far. The girls he had served before were openly and loudly flirting with his brother. They would touch his arms and run their hands down his abs, all the while laughing at little comments and glaring at anyone who told them to be quiet. Tadashi just stood there with a stone face expression, cracking a stiff smile every few seconds to keep the customers happy.

Hiro didn't know why, but seeing them touch all over Tadashi like that made him go crazy. He didn't realize he was getting closer until he was getting complaints from the people closest to the offenders.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Hiro looked over at the woman who called.

"Uh it's Sir, but yes?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Could you please tell those young ladies over there to quiet down?"

Hiro nodded, "Of course ma'am, I'll take care of it right away."

He shuffled over to the table, sidling next to Tadashi. The girls instantly stopped their giggling and glared at Hiro.

"Excuse me, ladies. You're causing a disruption and multiple people find you annoying. Would you mind bringing it down a bit?"

Tadashi gave Hiro a thankful look, turning his attention back to the girls when they all scoffed.

"How about you buzz off and tell everyone to get the sticks out of their butts."

Hiro opened his mouth to retort, only to be stopped when Tadashi settled his hand over Hiro's mouth.

"If you don't quiet down, I'll have to ask you to leave."

The brunette pouted, "But Tada, I thought we had something special." Tadashi shook his head, pushing Hiro back a bit.

"I honestly don't find you relationship material, so _special _isn't the word is would use to describe our conversation."

Hiro smirked as the woman's face turned red in rage from the rejection. She jumped up from her seat and stuck her face way too close to Tadashi's. Hiro, feeling the same sick feeling from seeing her so close, jerked the back of Tadashi's shirt to pull him back. The harsh movement slipped the water pitcher from Tadashi's grasp, making it spill all over the snarky woman.

A shrill scream erupted from the now soaking girl, causing a few people to cringe from the volume. She was drenched from head to toe with the freezing water. Her makeup ran with the liquid, making her face gray and blue from the eyeliner. She went from upset to angry in less than a second, giving Tadashi no time to dodge when she slapped him harshly. A red mark instantly began to show on his face and he held his stinging cheek.

Hiro's eyes widened when she turned towards him; lashing out with sharp nail and gripping his hair. Hiro screamed in pain as he felt the hair rip from his head. Tadashi gasped, pushing the woman away from his brother. He pulled the younger Hamada against his chest, shielding him from any further blows.

Tadashi turned his head when he heard the woman yelling profanities at customers. He was surprised to see geeks and weirdoes grabbing the young woman and pushing her towards the door. A few concerned patrons came to Hiro's aid, checking him for any other injuries. Their Aunt pushed through the crowd, grabbing her boys and leading them to the back.

"Anyone who is waiting for service please be patient. Those who helped remove that annoyance from my café will get something on the house." A few people clapped and cheered at the mention of free stuff. The entire time, Tadashi held Hiro close, adamant on checking him as soon as possible.

It was 9:30 when Cass finally closed shop, giving Hiro relief from his too girly costume. He sat upstairs on Tadashi's bed while his brother counted through both their tips. For Tadashi, it was a comfortable silence, but for Hiro it felt heavy and forced.

"Dashi…" Tadashi looked up, lying back onto the bed to get a better look at his brother.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, looking down in shame. Tadashi raised his brows in question, scooting up a bit more.

"Why are you sorry?"

Hiro was silent for a while. "N-never mind."

The older Hamada huffed in annoyance, pulling Hiro against his chest and sitting up. Hiro squealed in surprise. Tadashi rested his chin on Hiro's head, rocking them back and forth until his baby brother relaxed into the embrace.

"If you're talking about today then don't worry. You saved me from a likely marriage proposal." The both chuckled, knowing that if that girl had kept talking, she probably would have asked for his hand in marriage.

The two sat in another silence before Tadashi rolled them to the side so they were lying down. He pulled Hiro closer, grabbing the comforter and dragging it up to Hiro's neck. Tadashi gave him a light kiss where his hair was pulled, letting that be his goodnight.

"New rule: No more maid café. Brings too much trouble." Hiro nodded, agreeing completely. They both had their own selfish reason for not wanting to do it, but it was best to keep that secret. For now of course. They would have plenty of chances to voice their jealousy in the future.


	8. Don't think too much

Hiro squinted in the luminous light, typing quickly on the worn keyboard as the hours ticked by. He had been working night and day for the SFIT showcase, not sleeping unless he collapsed in the garage or Tadashi carried him upstairs. Hiro was very happy with how his microbots turned out, but he still fined tuned as much as he could. The young genius was thinking about testing them tomorrow if all went well.

He was overjoyed when the 30th scan of the bots showed high level function results. He might be able to test them today if he's lucky. Hiro leaned back as far as he could in his chair, relishing at the feeling of his back popping one spinal nugget at a time. He stopped bending when he heard the splintering pop of his rolley chair's unhappiness. Hiro groaned and righted himself, slipping some scrap paper and a pen over to him to jot down a note.

_Bot fight on the 6__th__: Bet twice as much, need new computer chair._

He hurriedly stuffed the paper into his hoodie pocket when he heard Tadashi's heavy steps come closer to the garage.

"Hey Hiro, I know you love to stay cooped up and alone in the garage, but I decided you needed some company that _didn't _feed you pizza all the time."

Tadashi sauntered into their work space, setting a paper plate filled with noodles and chicken on Hiro's desk. The older Hamada ruffled his brother hair as he pulled up and chair and sat down next to him.

"So… how's it coming along?"

Hiro looked over at his Nii-Chan; he felt the same tug in his chest he had felt for the past few months. It thrummed harshly, making the genius want to flinch. He never knew how or why it started; he just knew that it got worse when Tadashi was around then mysteriously got better when he wasn't. The tug only completely disappeared when he hugged or touched his brother, causing weird thoughts and theories to pop up in his head.

Hiro sighed, leaning on his brother's side. He felt the tug disappear when Tadashi lifted him into his lap and stroked his hair.

"Mhmm, I know the feeling." Tadashi said while nodding. He stared at the screen his brother had been so happy to see, finding the same emotion when he saw the clean bill of health on the bots.

"Well done, baby bro, your invention is running great!" Hiro whined at the loudness, turning in his brother's arms and completely curling into his lap. It was a good thing Hiro was still small or he might not have been able to be Tadashi's lap cat.

The older Hamada let out a deep laugh, petting Hiro as though he actually was his cat; he was surprised when he heard a small rumble that sounded very familiar to that of a purring feline. His hand moved to cup Hiro's face. Tadashi smiled when Hiro rubbed against his palm, continuing his little purring noises.

Tadashi would have loved to sit there all day and languish in the warm cuddles his brother craved as of recently, but he knew that today was a work day and time consuming affections were for weekends and breaks. He reluctantly nudged at Hiro until he rolled off his lap and onto the floor. The elder boy rolled his eyes, picking Hiro from the dusty ground and setting him back in his chair. The rolley seat squeaked and cracked a bit when Hiro's weight pushed it down. Tadashi made a mental note: _Buy Hiro a new computer chair._

Hiro huffed in anger when the annoying tug came back, pulling at his heart like a nagging girlfriend. He read over the data one more time before grabbing his neurotransmitter from the head mannequin. With his brother's help, he moved the many trash bins out of the garage into the little road alley.

Once they got the microbots out of the garage, Hiro looked over the headband like device in his hands. He was reluctant to start. It wasn't uncommon; many creators feared the thing they had made might break, even if it was made of the most durable materials. Hiro thought about the many hours he spent creating, manufacturing, and overall admiring his work along with Tadashi's… no… their friends. It was a great time, and he desperately wanted that kind of time all the time. The only way he could achieve that dream was to take the first step… he just needed a push.

Hiro snapped of out his thoughts and a strong hand settled on his shoulders. Hiro looked up at his brother, getting lost in the warm chocolate gaze looking back. Tadashi set Hiro's hand in his own, removing the transmitter from Hiro's grasp. He pushed back Hiro's bangs, gently slipping on the device. Tadashi let his finger linger on his brother's soft hair, only pulling back fully when the neurotransmitter began to glow a bright blue.

Hiro felt his heart jump at Tadashi's touch, feeling the incessant tug sharpen for a moment before going back to a clockwork ache. He tried to focus on the slithering bots moving in front of him. When he felt the cool metal around his ankles, he regained his focus, adamant on showing off his cool invention to his brother.

The bots coiled around his feet, lifting him into the air and flipping him upside down. Hiro began to giggle when Tadashi's face went from impressed to horrified as he climbed walls and dangled like spider man a little too high in the air.

If only Hiro could get the spider man kiss as well.

"W-wow Hiro you- WOAH! Be careful! You're microbots are great!" Tadashi waved his arms excitedly. The older Hamada pointed towards some old trash cans a few yards back.

"Hiro, see if you can do something with those cans. If you want to impress Callahan, then you'll need to do a bit of onstage building."

Hiro nodded, turning his attention to the rusty garage tins. The bots snaked across the ground, pouring like water down the street until they came in contact with the old tin. Hiro centered his focus; the cans were lifted with ease and smashed together. Hiro didn't even break a sweat as a quite accurate sculpture of Fred emerged from the black mass.

Tadashi frowned a bit when the statue was Fred instead of him, but still applauded his brother as his set the work of art back onto the ground.

Hiro smiled, wide and genuine, as he lowered himself back towards Tadashi. The older boy ran his hands over the microbots once they had gotten close enough to him. Hiro felt a shiver wrack down his spine; he had actually felt Tadashi's touch. His eyes widened; he never expected them to meld with him like that… he might have to see what touches do what later, but for now he had to check back in with Tadashi.

Hiro sighed in relief as his feet touched the ground. Though he loved riding around on the bots, it did make him miss the ground a bit. Just as he opened his mouth to ask Tadashi how he did, he was smothered against a hard chest, heart beating fast.

"Oh gods, never scare me like that." He growled into Hiro's hair. The smaller boy shuddered at the vibrations from his voice. Hiro wrapped his arms around Tadashi's back, reciprocating the hug to his best abilities. Tadashi began talking about how he's going to brag to the guys about how cool his baby brother is. Hiro smiled, feeling something different where his tug used to be. A warm feeling bloomed from his chest to his head and down to his toes. He felt euphoric in Tadashi's embrace.

But, when the older man pulled away, Hiro felt the tug come back full force. A sort of desperation alarmed his brain, thus overriding the neurotransmitter.

Before he could react, a large swarm of microbots shot at Tadashi. The miniature robots pinned Tadashi to a lamp post, all the while climbing slowly up his body. Tadashi yelped in surprise, struggling when the bots tightened a smidge. Hiro gasped, sending distress signals to the microbots, demanding their attention.

The black bots vibrated from confusion. Hiro's brain screamed pull away _and _keep close, causing a expand and contract motion in the microbots. Tadashi stayed quiet, knowing something was going wrong and trying to tell Hiro to do anything would most likely make it worse.

Hiro took a deep breath, hoping it would help calm him a bit. He knew he could just take the neurotransmitter off and everything would be fine, but then the bots would be susceptible to these kinds of outbursts and malfunction. Hiro kept a steady breathing rhythm, finding it was slowly easing his rampant mind.

Tadashi sighed in relief when the bots fell to the ground; the sound of their small bodies hitting the ground was similar to beads. He looked up just as Hiro was slipping off the neurotransmitter, a worried look etched into his cute face.

Before Hiro could apologize, Tadashi did what he had done multiple times, he hugged his bro, not letting go until Hiro relaxed in his arms. Hiro let out a shaky sigh, handing Tadashi the transmitter. Tadashi smiled, ruffling Hiro's floofy hair as he led Hiro towards the stairs.

"Hiro, why don't you go upstairs and rest, you've had a _very _rough day."

Hiro nodded, keeping his head down as he walked to the slightly rickety stairs. Tadashi noted his slumped posture; it was either from his time in his chair or from his breakdown a minute ago.

"Hiro-"

The boy turned, facing his brother and hoping he wasn't mad.

"I… Go sleep in my bed tonight. I'll be up in a minute and we can have a little slumber party."

Hiro snickered. "Slumber party? What are you, 12?"

Tadashi faked a confused look. "Weren't you quite enamored with slumber parties when you were 12?"

Hiro chuckled, after a bit, his face dropped. A weak smile appeared on his tired face.

"Tadashi… um… I love you." Hiro felt an angry blush bloom across his cheeks and neck. Before Tadashi could reply, Hiro was already up the stairs and behind the door.

Tadashi welcomed the reddening of his cheeks.

"Love you too, Hiro… always."


	9. Tadashi

"Tadashi! Tadassshhhiii!" The boy genius screamed in hopeless abandon. His face burned from the molten heat of the burning university, and the tears did nothing more than to irritate his reddening skin. Hiro scrambled from the rubble ridden ground, bruising his knees and making his hands bleed as he hurriedly crawled towards the still raging flames.

He flailed in panic as he felt hands wrap around his waist.

"No! No! Stop he's still in there!" Hiro screamed until his throat was raw. He turned towards the person carrying him, slamming his fists on the routine fire suit. Hiro kicked and screamed as more people tried to calm him down. His struggling earned a showcase worker a foot to the face.

Hiro watched, hopeless as he was carried away from his brother's possible grave. He stopped his thrashing when he realized there was no way he could escape from their grasp. Hiro was quickly placed onto an EMT cart, where on call nurses tended to his wounds and asked for his information.

He stared blankly at the ground as they tried to ask for his name. Their voices seemed like white noise; along with the police sirens and crackling fire.

When the EMT's realized he wasn't responding, they laid him back and lifted the cart into an awaiting ambulance.

If he wasn't so useless, he would be dragging Tadashi into that ambulance himself instead of being bonelessly carted away. If he wasn't so weak he could have stopped Tadashi from going in and maybe, just maybe, he might have been able to see his brothers face one last time.

His worst decision, ultimate fuck up, most useless moment; Hiro Hamada felt numb. He wanted to give up. If he had been attached to a breather he would have pulled its plug, just so he could feel the torture Tadashi felt so he could be forgiven.

Hiro's head flopped to the side, this time not hitting Tadashi's shoulder. Tears poured from his stinging eyes, and weren't immediately wiped away by a handkerchief his brother thought was a good idea to carry around. He began to tremble as the emotions flooded back into his system, and this time… Tadashi wasn't there to tell him it was alright.


	10. Red

Hiro tapped impatiently at the sterile, yet yellowing, front desk at SanFransokyo hospital. The bunch of roses in his hand faintly masked the smell of cleaning fluid and the sickly sweet perfume the front desk woman was wearing. Speaking of her, she nonchalantly scrolled through the list of patients in D-ward as though she had all the time in the world, which irritated Hiro to no end. His tapping became louder as if to hurry the woman along. He had things to do, school work to finish, and more importantly… someone to meet.

The woman gave him a strained smile as she handed him a small keycard with the label 'D-146' written on it in sharpie. Hiro gave her an equally lacking thank you and rushed down the twisting halls he had memorized after many visits. As he got into the elevator, he felt the jitters he had managed to push down a while ago resurface. He was planning on doing something pretty bold today, hence the blood red roses carefully wrapped in his arms. He thought about what had made him finally confess, what jostled him into spilling the beans.

It all started about one year ago.

After the horrendous university explosion, Hiro spent days locked up in his room. He refused food and drink, causing him to lose an alarming amount of weight. He felt so hopeless, so alone, so… sad, until Baymax was activated. The plush bot had made him realize that the fire shouldn't have happened, not unless someone was behind the whole thing. Filled with rage, Hiro fixed Baymax up with armor and set out for the area his lone microbot had led him to a few days before.

Confident in Baymax's upgrades, he thought he could apprehend the man behind the mask and avenge his brother. Little did he know, he was getting into something that just he and Baymax could not handle alone. Luckily, his friends showed up to save his butt from being completely annihilated.

After they dragged themselves to Fred's mansion, which was a _huge _surprise to everyone, he went to work coming up with a plan on how to catch the yokai. After a bit of convincing, his friends decided to help him, lest he be squished by his own creation. Everything was going smoothly, costumes were being made, upgrades flew in like carrier pigeons, and he could finally let Tadashi's soul rest in peace…

Until he got the call.

Hiro dropped everything; he ran to the hospital with Cass right behind him, his heart beginning to feel again.

'_Hello. Is this the Hamada residence?'_

Hiro skidded to a stop in front of the massive hospital, feeling a surge of hope as he saw how many floors there were. One and only one held his beloved.

'_We're calling to inform you about a patient who has been hospitalized with relations to you.'_

He flew past the receptionist, ignoring her calls and rushing to get to the single elevator down the hall.

'_He was admitted into the burn ward on the morning after the university fire.'_

What was his name? Say his name.

'_A mister… Tadashi Hamada.'_

Hiro had never felt more relieved in his life, all the time he spent locked away as he allowed his mind and body deteriorate would be made up by this one movement. Once he got out of that elevator and went to the room his Aunt had screamed to him as the doors were closing, he would finally be able to see the only thing that kept him going all these years.

He stopped in front of the door, marveling at the paper name tag on the front.

D-146: Tadashi Hamada

Tears slipped down his face as he pushed open the door. He pulled back the curtain, nearly falling to the ground in joy when he saw his brother's body lying atop a stark white bed. He slowly walked to the front of the bed, noting the multiple monitors and breathers attached to him. His heart sunk a little when he realized Tadashi wasn't breathing on his own. His heart plummeted when he saw the diagnosis sheet.

_Patient: Tadashi Hamada_

_Injuries: multiple burns to torso, face, and arms. Concussion. _

_Treatment: Skin grafts, daily salves, 24/7 brain monitoring._

_Unexplained injuries: __Non-medically induced coma_

Hiro spent the next few days just sitting by his brother's hospital bed. He would talk and talk for hours to Tadashi's unconscious form. He had read somewhere that people in a vegetable like state could still hear what a person on the outside was saying; when the doctors began to feed him the possibility of pulling Tadashi's plug, he quickly pushed them from the room.

'_Don't worry Tadashi; I won't let them do it. We'll find another angle and get you back home safely, I promise.'_

Fueled by the hope of achieving his almost impossible goal, he began eating full meals again so Baymax wouldn't alert the older Hamada of Hiro's malnourishment. Hiro even updated Tadashi on what was happening around town and how close they were to finding the yokai.

Hiro knew his brother was very against him getting into danger, and he knew Tadashi was screaming from his conscious mind different reasons not to do it. Hiro listed the many he had heard over the years.

'_That guy is too dangerous, you or someone else could get seriously hurt.'_

"But we have to stop him before he kills anyone."

'_You're just a kid; you know nothing about what really goes on in the brains of those people.'_

"I'm a genius, Tadashi. I know a thing or two about mental health."

'_Just stay back and let the professionals help.'_

"I would if I didn't know something weird was going on. I can't just leave him to his own devices, someone could die, and someone has to help."

After that, Hiro didn't come back to visit, he had gotten huge leads on yokai's position and needed all the time he could get to prepare the nerd squad.

After all the weeks of working and training, they were finally ready to take down the man who had dared to mess with the Hamadas… and co. All the buildup, all the mishaps, all the blood, sweat, and tears seemed like nothing when he lifted the mask to find the man who Hiro had nearly worshipped.

Callahan wasn't the man Tadashi described any longer; he was bitter and cruel, just like Hiro when he snapped and removed Baymax's main chip.

After a struggle and the worst fit of anger he'd ever had, he stormed into the garage, ready to exact his revenge.

But Baymax refused.

The nurse bot kept asking him over and over: Is this what Tadashi would have wanted? But Hiro knew, he knew his brother would never wake up, there was no other angle, and it was useless to even try.

TADASHI IS GONE!

Hiro had hit rock bottom that day. He had sunken so far into his crushed hopes and dreams that he felt like the world wanted him just as dead as he wished he was. The only saving grace… was Tadashi.

He pulled himself from his pity pit with the help of his friends. He conquered his anger in favor of Tadashi's cool headed thinking style. He wanted to be the man that inspired him to truly live. He wanted to be what Tadashi knew he would become. And with a pocket full of hope and his five unusual friends, he achieved more than he could ever hope for.

And much more a few days later.

Abbigail was admitted to the same hospital as Tadashi, they were even on the same floor. Just as Hiro had finished his visit to both his brother and Callahan's daughter, he felt the vinyl hand of his nurse bot and fighting companion stop him in his tracks.

"Hiro, you are being sent a call from contact: Cassameme. Also known as your Aunt. Would you like me to accept the call?"

Hiro smiled, patting the robot's squishy arm. "Yeah, buddy, go ahead."

"Answering, please hold on one moment"… … …_"Hiro! Oh my god. Get back here right now! He's awake! He's awake, Hiro! He's back!" _

Hiro ran as fast as he could back to the hospital, completely ignoring the burning ache in his legs. When he finally reached his brother's room, he almost dropped into a faint right then and there.

The older Hamada gave him a sleepy yet loving smile. "Hey Hiro, what took you so long?"

Hiro remembered sobbing into his brother's thin night gown and being completely closed off from the rest of the world by his brother's embrace. He refused to leave Tadashi's room for days until he was dragged away from their shared vice grip by his Aunt.

'_You stink and so does your brother. I know it's been hard for you, but it will make it way easier for me if you go home and shower'_

The brothers shared a few light hearted laughs as they both recovered, mentally and physically. If Tadashi wasn't thrust into a coma, he might have been able to go home already, but, with fear of an unexplained or unexpected relapse, they kept him for quite a while. Tadashi desperately wanted to go home and sleep in his bed, work in his lab, and just be free of his blank white prison. The younger Hamada was lucky he was in all the same classes as his bro or he might not have been able to get Tadashi his missed work.

As the days flew by, the family sunk into a comfortable routine. Hiro goes to school while Cass works; he gets Tadashi's work and brings it to the hospital after school, the brother's converse and do brotherly things until Aunt Cass gets there in the afternoon with dinner.

Hiro had begun to memorize the halls, staff, lunch specials, everything. He even spent his fifteenth birthday tangled in monitors, wanting nothing more for his birthday than Tadashi's health to be good for a long _long _time.

Hiro allowed a faint smile to appear on his face; he remembered the good times he shared with his brother. He remembered having to explain Big Hero 6 to the peeved man; Tadashi even admitted he heard Hiro's half assed explanation before the boy genius left him in favor of getting Callahan. The older boy refused to let Hiro leave his bed side until he documented his little brothers scrapes and scars with gentle hands. Hiro blushed, admitting he had thought of those hands doing _other things_ than just a soft inspection. He was 15, he had urges, but he didn't think fantasizing about his blood brother was the best way to go about his, as Baymax would say constantly: Puberty.

Getting back on topic: Hiro leaned against the padded elevator walls as the memories of his 15th birthday came pouring back, it was his favorite memory, his treasure. Tadashi, with nothing to give the little genius, quoted poets and famous writers, compiling as many things he loved about Hiro in little passages written by the classics. The college man even made up his own haikus to entertain Hiro while Cass brought the cake up.

_I cannot compare_

_Your gentle form so squishy _

_You have no muscles _

_(It's snowing on Mount Fuji)_

Hiro snickered, lifting a rose to his nose and giving it another sniff. He was nervous, rightly so, about telling Tadashi his feelings. But with the chaos that has taken over the poor boys life in the past few months, he needed to tell Tadashi preferably before they both died.

The young Hamada flinched when the elevator screeched to a stop; its old doors scraping open and revealing a familiar bleached hallway. Hiro jogged down the white hall, turning when he saw a childishly decorated door with the label D-146. He smiled when another memory crept into his conscious.

Hiro and the gang saw how depressed Tadashi was getting just looking at the same color every day, so they bought a whole bunch of construction paper, scissors, and tape to add some color to the old building. Fred drew monsters setting the city aflame, while Wasabi folded origami cranes with Go-go. She sped through each crane as though her life depended on it, by the end of the day she had over 500 cranes flooding the now colorful room. Honey and Hiro decided to go with a more relaxed approach. They, along with Tadashi, made paper chains and hung them all around the room. Hiro even brought a comforter from the café, which was from their old home, and made a canopy over Tadashi's bed, making sure to avoid monitors and keep the area open to doctors.

Hiro snapped from his thoughts just as he remembered snuggling with his brother under said canopy.

He swallowed harshly, sliding the key card through the doors slot and walking inside. He was instantly greeted with a bright smile and greeting.

"Hey Hiro, I was wondering when you would come in. How's the hallway by the way?"

Tadashi let out a bellowing laugh when Hiro's face went from normal to tomato in 3.5. He snorted when Hiro tripped over his words trying to think up a smart comeback. The young Hamada stared sheepishly over at Tadashi, noting the lack of scar tissue from the many skin grafts that his body underwent. Hiro tightened his grip on the bunch of roses in his hand, wincing when a thorn nicked the pale skin.

Tadashi relaxed his smile and motioned for Hiro to come over to his bed side, eager to learn what and who that roses were for. He really hoped they were for him.

Hiro stumbled over the neat floor and set the bunch of twelve on a little food tray. He avoided looking his brother in the eye, hoping he would seem too enamored in the two opened jello cups on the tray. Tadashi chuckled softly at the shyness, pulling the beautiful flowers into his arms.

Hiro pulled up a chair and sat down, feeling his hands begin to sweat from the anxiety.

"What are these for, a 'you're getting out of the hospital soon present?"

Hiro shook his head slowly, staying silent for a while before taking a deep breath.

"Tadashi… I need to say something _really _important… and you're not allowed to say anything until I'm finished!"

Tadashi felt the mood shift from flitty and shy to serious. He nodded firmly, wanting his brother to know he had his full attention.

Hiro sighed, taking another breath before starting. "Tadashi… y-you… I… I'm you brother. You've been with me almost every step of the way in my life and you've taught me so much more than I could have hoped. You're the light to my darkness, my saving grace, my angel, and I don't think I could ever live without you."

He paused, trying to read his brother expression, only to find the face of extreme concentration. That was a good sign… right?

"W-when you- when I thought you died, I wanted to die too. I felt like my whole world had turned gray and I thought that me living was an insult to your death for the longest time… Then I got a call saying you were alright. I was so happy, my Nii-chan was alive and well. But the fire of revenge still burned deep inside, making me make you worry as I took on something that seemed impossible. Even when I fought I thought of you. I wondered how Tadashi would lead, or how he would plan this and that out. In fact, you're the reason me and the gang are still alive. I found a different angle, nii-chan, I did just like you taught me and it kept me safe."

Hiro paused again when he felt tears well up in his eyes. Tadashi slipped Hiro's hand into his own larger one, stroking his thumb in a calming motion.

"T-then, I realized something, something that has been bothering me for god knows how long. All the jealousy, happiness, warm fuzzies, grief, and turmoil just made me have a realization. I needed to say this, not tomorrow, or the day after that, but now… Tadashi Hamada, I love you so much. Not just the brotherly kind of love, the kind that makes you want to punch someone if they get to close; the kind of love that hurts so bad but feels so good in the end. It's the kind of love that never goes away. I love you so much it hurts. I understand if you're disgusted, but you promised to hear me out so give me a minute."

The calming motions of Tadashi's thumb never stopped while he thought of what to say next.

"You're getting out of here soon and I want to do something special for you. I'd like to think of it as a date, but it can just be a brotherly outing if you want. I want to know who the real Tadashi is behind all the brotherly snuggles and what not."

Tadashi chuckled.

"So… what do you say, Nii-chan? Do you think you could give me a chance?"

They fell into a tense silence, the younger Hamada dreading his brother's answer.

"Hiro… you're not disgusting. In fact, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I've thought about use _that way _before. But not only have you had a chance, you've been using that chance all your life to win me over. Seeing you grow into the beautiful young man you are today made me realize that you won't need me around for very much longer. But now… now that I know… I can finally say yes to myself again. So yes Hiro, I would love to go on a date with you. You never know, you might find out something more secretive about me than just how I like my drinks."

Hiro felt excitement shoot up his spine; a lovely blush bloomed on his face as his smile stretch across. He felt giggly when Tadashi raised his small hand to his mouth, giving it a princess style kiss while he waited for the expected explosion of happiness. He felt the urge to run around build in his legs, causing him to jump and shout in joy and triumph.

Too bad he forgot about the tray table.

Under estimating how far away the hard plastic was, his knee jammed straight up into the metal part. Hiro cried in pain, not noticing the two opened jello containers flying up in the air. He only realized his mistake when he heard Tadashi yell in surprise. He gasped in horror as he saw the sticky red substance spread across the thin night gown. Hiro scrambled for a few napkins thrown from the tray and onto the floor, not noticing his brother's rising laughter volume.

"Well now that's one way to celebrate getting a date. Tell me Hiro, how often does this work with others?"

Hiro groaned, throwing the rough paper at his brother's face. The older Hamada cleaned himself off; he still called a nurse in for another night gown though, even with the jello wiped off he was still sticky.

Tadashi watched fondly as Hiro ran to the small bathroom to get some towel and help clean the mess. It was one of the things he loved about Hiro, his drive to please. Even when he would deny it, it only proved his point further. Hiro was a giver by heart, so was Tadashi; he could see their relationship getting, dare he say, quite childish in the future, more so than it is now. But Tadashi didn't mind, as long as he had his Hiro and Hiro had him, they would be happy and that's all that matters.


End file.
